FC St. Pauli have the chance to leave the relegation zone for the first time since October whilst Karlsruher SC's can close the gap to 1860 Munich, who are above Die Badener by seven points.

The battle for the 15th place

One can say the relegation battle in 2. Bundesliga has become very intense as the bottom four teams are all level on points: Erzgebirge Aue, Arminia Bielefeld, FC St. Pauli and Karlsruher SC all had 18 points. Aue lost 1-4 to Dynamo Dresden whilst Bielefeld earned a point against Hannover 96 following a 2-2 draw. This Monday night sees Die Kiezkicker host KSC at the Millerntor-Stadion, which promises to be a thrilling encounter with a wonderful atmosphere. St. Pauli can finally leave the relegation zone, but KSC's record at the Millerntor is a warning for the hosts.

Die Badener have won their last three away games at St. Pauli (0-2, 0-4, 1-2). However, in 29 encounters between the two teams, St. Pauli have won ten, draw ten and have lost nine versus the Blue-Whites. A slight advantage for the hosts, though the visitors can collect their tenth victory to level up in the 30th clash.

St. Pauli's great form is a warning

The Brown-Whites started superbly in the new year. In their last three games, St. Pauli have seven out of a possible nine points. Only VfB Stuttgart leads the table of the last three games.

Last week's game away at Bielefeld could have been another victory, though Bielefeld equalised in injury time. It felt like a defeat for die Kiezkicker, but head coach Ewald Lienen made clear: "You have to learn to draw a line under it quickly and focus on your next opponents again."

The new pitch shall help the hosts to keep up their great form: "We obviously hope it will suit us. It's a factor that can help." Another help could be squad depth, "Apart from Joel Keller all players are in full training. That's very pleasing and important for us." However, it is unclear if Lasse Sobiech can play: "Lasse didn't have a temperature and was only out for two days. We'll see how he copes in training today."

"Every game is a final for us"

It will be a difficult time for both teams in the coming weeks as they fight against relegation. Every point counts, as well as every goal can make a difference in the league table. Lienen knows that, "Every game is like a final for us (...) It doesn't matter if we play under floodlights or not. That's not a decisive factor. We're glad the ground's full again.

"We'll battle and apply ourselves but we also want to play football - the pitch will be decisive, of course," added the 63-year-old. It will be St. Pauli's fourth Monday night game and only one point has be gathered under Monday floodlights.

"They've played in a 4-4-2 formation under Mirko Slomka. They switch things extremely quickly in both directions," Lienen explained. He also knows that his men have to keep up with the explosive switching of KSC and stressed: "What we expect of the attacking players defensively, we expect of the defensive players in attack."

First Monday night game for KSC

Playing away at the loud and crowded Millerntor is never easy for the visiting team; especially not on a Monday night. Though, KSC's record at the Kiez is not the worst. Die Badener have beaten St. Pauli at their ground three times in their last three visits. Furthermore, it will be Karlsruhe's first Monday night game this season. Can they get another three points in St. Pauli?

"We have to withstand the enormous pressure and atmosphere," said Mirko Slomka during their press conference last Friday. "We should also enjoy the atmosphere in a positive way; A good atmosphere is good for both teams."

The Blue-Whites want to celebrate again after their two 2-1 defeats against 1860 Munich and Union Berlin. However, this will be a very hard task for KSC. "St. Pauli currently is very present on the pitch. It has paid off for St. Pauli that they have kept to their manager during this difficult phase instead of sacking him," informed Slomka.

More options for Slomka

The head coach can vary in his starting eleven again. Grischa Prömel and Hiroki Yamada returned after their suspension and and are options for the line-up. Franck Kom, who had been sent off during last week's game versus Union Berlin, will have to watch from the stands.

Team captain and 'keeper Dirk Orlishausen will be standing between the posts tomorrow again, which will be his eight time versus St. Pauli. Slomka recently chose Orlishausen over Réné Vollath because of his "calmness and experience".

Centre-back Jordi Figueras will also be playing on Monday night. During last week's match, the Spaniard has received an undeserved booking from the referee, which would have been his fifth, following a penalty incident. However, the penalty was caused by David Kinsombi. Referee Thorben Siewer had correclty booked Kinsombi, but the fourth official told Siewer to book Figueras instead and erase Kinsombi's yellow card.

Karlsruher SC had then asked the DFB for clarification Figueras' booking has been taken off, which allows him to play in Hamburg tomorrow night.

Everything is set for a thrilling relegation battle. Who will have the last laugh tomorrow?

Predicted line-ups

FC St. Pauli: (4-2-3-1) Heerwagen; Buballa; Hornschuh, Sobiech, Dudziak; Flum, Nehrig; Sobotka, Buchtmann; Cenk Sahin; Bouhaddouz.

Karlsruher SC: (4-4-2) Orlishausen; Kempe, Figueras, Kinsombi, Bader; Meffert, Prömel; Stoppelkamp, Yamada; Mugosa, Diamantakos.